Shimmering Red
by Swift tales
Summary: Fifth in the Odd Colour Series comes after Fluo Green
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 1

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly he opened his eyes and focused on the evidence laid out in front of him. It was impossible that the killer had left nothing behind, there had to be something he was missing, something he didn't see. His eyes scanned the contents yet again, but didn't come up with something new.

He sighed, this case was getting nowhere fast. He'd been hopelessly stuck, ever since he finished processing everything they'd found at the crime scene. There was nothing specific about anything, nothing could trace them back to the killer.

According to Alexx, the boy had been stabbed multiple times and bled out. They hadn't found a knife at the crime scene or anything off the sort. The only evidence they had were the boys clothes and a few cigarette buts that only had DNA off the victim on them.

It was frustrating to say the least.

Especially because they had no idea who the boy was.

There wasn't any identification on the victim's body, his prints didn't come up in AFIS, his DNA didn't come up CODIS. Everything they tried turned up to be a dead end. Horatio had come by to check on him twice already and Ryan couldn't give him anything, not anything.

He checked his watch and decided to wrap up things for today and get a fresh start with his case in the morning. He'd stayed over three hours since the end of shift and he really wanted to go home.

On his way to the locker room he tried to empty his head of everything to do with the case, the only thing he wanted to do now was to go home and have fun, or go to sleep. Or go to bed with Eric and have fun.

He quickly got his stuff from his locker and made his way to the parking lot. Now he'd finally made the decision of going home he couldn't wait to get out of the lab. He inhaled the fresh air and made his way to his car, getting in the vehicle and quickly making his way home.

When he got home all the lights were on and he could hear laughter coming through the door and he smiled, taking a moment to savour the warm night air and the laughter inside. He then opened the door and stepped inside. He could see Eric on the sofa and Rowen in the armchair and they were watching Dogma and Ryan smiled when he heard Rowen point out the chemistry between Loki and Bartleby to Eric.

He closed the door behind him and the click made his lover and his best friend look up. Ryan smiled and Eric smiled back while Rowen grinned and turned back to the TV. "Hey Ryan." Eric said, waving him over and Ryan dutifully obeyed, nestling down beside the Cuban and curling into the other man's body.

"Hey Eric." He mumbled and he shifted closer. He could hear a warm chuckle above him but Ryan ignored it, merely closing his eyes and relaxing. There was a rather loud giggle from the direction of the arm chair and Ryan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. There was shifting, the sound of footsteps and a kiss on his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow Sweetie."

Ryan didn't open his eyes. "See you tomorrow Rowen." He could hear Rowen giggle again. "Bye Eric." "Bye Rowen." There was a minute of silence and then footsteps moving away, the sound of the front door opening and closing.

There was another minute of silence.

"You're wearing yourself out, you should have come home sooner." Eric said, running his hand through Ryan's hair. Ryan snuggled closer. "I didn't realize how tired I was until I settled down next to you."

"You always use that excuse."

Ryan chuckled and tried to snuggle closer once again, this time failing because there wasn't a breath of air between them anymore. Eric chuckled. "Come on, lets go to bed." But Ryan shook his head. "You can watch TV or something, you don't have to go to bed just because I'm tired."

But Eric shook his head. "No, baby, we're going to bed together." He then tugged Ryan upward and helped him up the stairs, laughing quietly when he saw his lover stumble. He helped his lover undress, letting his eyes wander over the smooth planes of skin and was struck by the simple beauty of his lover.

He undressed himself as well and then pulled his lover into his arms, revelling in the sensation of skin on skin and the simple pleasure of holding his lover close. He drew back and they kissed gently, Eric's tongue invading Ryan's mouth and making the younger man moan. They settled back underneath the sheets, Ryan sprawled over Eric's chest, Eric's arms wrapped securely around him.

They were in love and they were together and really, that was all that really mattered.

---- ---- ----- ----

"You know, just for the sake of my sanity we should say something. " Rowen said, her fingertips drawing meaningless circles on his chest.

"I wasn't aware you still had any sanity left." Horatio said, voice amused and staring at the ceiling.

Rowen gave him a playful whack on the arm, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, for the sake of my insanity we should say something."

Horatio nodded. "Alright, for the sake of your insanity I'm willing to say something."

"Really?" Rowen asked, raising her head up slightly.

Horatio smiled and brushed a strand of her hair back. "Yes, I happen to like your insanity." Rowen smiled and laid back down. "Okay, so if we're going to tell Ryan and Eric... how to go about it?" Horatio chuckled and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep Rowen, you'll figure it out in the morning I'm sure."

That earned him another playful wack on the arm.

But he could feel her settle down beside him.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 2

"Ryan?"

Ryan jumped slightly and turned to see Horatio standing in the doorway. He stood up straight and nodded. "H?" Horatio stepped further inside, coming to stand next to Ryan in front of the lay out table. "How is the case going?" He asked, turning slightly so regard the younger man. Ryan sighed and turned to look at the lay out table, to look at all the evidence laid out in front of him. "Not so good. We don't have a lead, we don't even know who he is. We're running his picture through the missing persons database and Speed is comparing his weight, length, etc. with the information off missing persons who don't have a picture in the file. And we're also checking his dental records. But till now we haven't had any response."

Horatio shifted. "Well that's changed. We've got a response from a dentist in Las Vegas." Ryan blinked. "Las Vegas? How did someone with a dentist in Las Vegas end up dead in a park in Miami?" Horatio smiled softly. "Well, you and Speed are going to Vegas to find out." Ryan turned to look at Horatio, his eyes wide. "We're going to Vegas?" Horatio nodded. "Vegas. The department will take care of all the costs. I suggest you come home and pack. The plane is leaving in the morning at the seven o'clock." Ryan blinked then nodded. "Alright." Horatio nodded and turned around, stepping outside of the lab. As soon as he left Ryan rested his head on the lay out table, groaning.

Speed entered the lay out room ten minutes later, stopping at the side of Ryan resting his head against the table. "You alright?" He asked, laying a hand on the young man's shoulder. Ryan sighed and lifted up his head, shaking it. "Have you heard?" Speed nodded. "Yeah, we're going to Vegas." Ryan nodded and Speed studied him for a minute. "Is that such a bad thing?" The older man finally asked. Ryan sighed. "I don't deal well with being thrown into a different environment and Vegas definitely counts as a different environment." Speed nodded. "Right, OCD." Ryan rolled his eyes and turned back to all the evidence on the lay out table.

Why couldn't their victim be born and raised in Miami? No, he just had to come from Vegas. Ryan almost rolled his eyes at himself. Right, blame the victim, since when was that the correct way to deal with a case. He thoughtfully straightened a wrinkle in the shirt of the suspect that was covered in blood. According to DNA all the blood had belonged to the victim, just as the blood on the pants, but the blood on the baseball cap had consisted of two donors; one was the victim and the other was unknown. And that was about all they had.

"What did I hear?" A voice asked from the doorway. Both men turned to find Eric leaning against the doorpost. "The two of you are going to Las Vegas?" Ryan and Speed nodded and Eric sighed, stepping further into the room. "I can't believe it. It's not fair." Ryan rolled his eyes and Speed punched Eric's shoulder. The tall Latino chuckled and smiled. "Just promise me the two of you won't get hitched while you're out there." Speed rolled his eyes and left the room while flipping Eric the bird. Ryan laughed and shook his head half-heartedly. "Just promise me you won't wreck the house while I'm gone." He said and he felt Eric's arm wound around his torso. "I promise." Eric's voice breathed in his ear and Ryan allowed himself to relax into Eric's hold slightly. "I have to go home and pack." Ryan said and Eric sighed. "Yeah, I know. A few days without you, I don't know what I'll do." Ryan laughed and turned around in Eric's embrace, punching his lover playfully. "Hey! What's with everyone hitting me today?" Eric whined and Ryan laughed again.

---- ---- ---- --- ---- ---- ---

"You're going to Vegas?" Rowen asked, sitting on Ryan's bed Indian Style while Ryan was packing his stuff neatly, no matter how hard Rowen had tried to convince him to just throw everything in. The young man nodded. "Yeah, to solve a case." Rowen seemed to debate this. "Is Eric going with you?" Ryan shook his head. "No, Speed is." Rowen nodded in understanding, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Promise me you won't get drunk." She said, looking at him again and Ryan rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't get drunk." He said, turning back to his closet, debating what kind of clothes and how many to take with him. After all, he had no idea how long he was going to stay there. "According to Eric and Speed they've already met some people of the Vegas Crime Lab when they came to Miami for a cross jurisdiction case. They met Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown, Speed said they were nice people, so that it won't be that bad. Eric said that they probably won't fight too much over jurisdiction matters." Ryan said, laying a neatly folded sweatervest in his suitcase.

Rowen wrinkled her nose. "You're not really taking that are you?" Ryan looked at her. "Why not?" Rowen hesitated. "Well, you look good in sweatervests, it's just that... have you never noticed I laughed in your face every time you wore one?" Ryan rolled his eyes. "You laugh at everything I wear?" He put the sweatervest back in the closet nonetheless. "I don't laugh at everything you wear, I laughed when you wore that awful orange t-shirt above that red sweater and I laugh when you wear sweatervests, that's all." Ryan rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's all." Sighing he pulled a jacket of it's hanger and folded it carefully, putting it in his suitcase neatly. Rowen rolled her eyes. "Neatfreak. You do realize that packing your suitcase when you go to Vegas neatly isn't natural? You're supposed to jam everything inside so that you have to sit on it to get it to close." Ryan shook his head. "You would." Rowen grinned.

"You know Ryan, it's so easy to drive you insane." Rowen said and Ryan snorted. "That's not exactly true. The only reason you can drive me insane so easily is because you know me so well. You know exactly what buttons to push to make sure I go crazy. And then there is the small little detail that you are you, you can drive anyone insane." Ryan said, checking to see if he had everything. Rowen grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I'm me, but seriously, would you want me any other way?" She asked and Ryan turned to look at her and smiled softly, shaking his head. "Of course not. I don't think I'd love you half as much as I do if you weren't your insane self." Rowen smiled back. "Thanks Ryan. I love you too."

She hopped off the bed and approached his suitcase, peering inside over Ryan's shoulder. She cringed in disgust. "Eeeew. That is way too neat, I have to mess things around a bit." Ryan shook his head and quickly closed his suitcase, zipping it shut. "No, you're not going to mess things around. You're not going to touch my suitcase." Rowen rolled her eyes but backed away nonetheless. "Fine, be a jerk!" She left the room laughing and Ryan shook his head. The young man picked up his suitcase and followed her down the stairs, setting his suitcase near the door so he'd be ready in the morning. Rowen watched him, amused beyond anything he'd ever seen her.

He rolled his eyes.

Rowen grinned.

She settled in the armchair while Ryan settled on the couch. Rowen sighed. "It's not fair that you get to go to Vegas but you don't want to go, while I'd love to go to Vegas but I can't go. It's not fair I tell you." Ryan snorted and shook his head. "You want to go in my place?" Rowen grinned. "As much as I'd love to, you know I can't." Ryan sighed and leaned back. "I just don't feel like Miami. I want to stay here, with you and Eric." The young man sighed. "But I suppose it's only for a few days, I mean I'm sure it won't take us that long to crack the case and after that we can go home." Ryan closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

Rowen shrugged. "I'm going to miss you, but you'll be back soon and I'll call you." Ryan nodded. "Right, if anything is up call me." "I'll call you even if nothing is up." Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Rowen grinned and Ryan ignored her. "Well, you want to go out for coffee? As a sort of twisted goodbye party?" Rowen asked, turning so her legs were over the back of the armchair and her head was dangling upside down. Ryan looked at her and then nodded. "Sure."

-- ------------- ------- -- --

Ryan came home to find Eric's truck in the parking lot and he quickly got out of the car. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with the Cuban before he had to leave. Rowen had kept him away longer then he had intended until she'd seen the time and seemed to panic. She'd left quickly, claiming she had somewhere to be and Ryan let her go, curious but in a rush to get home himself. Now he thought about it, Rowen had been disappearing frequently and she didn't stop by as much as she used to. He wondered why and for a minute he entertained the notion that she might want to give Eric and Ryan some privacy, but that wasn't how Rowen worked. Maybe she finally found a boyfriend, but if she did, why didn't she tell Ryan?

The young man decided to let the matter go and focus on Eric and their last night together before he was shipped off to Vegas for a couple of days. He entered the house and smiled when he saw Eric's head peeking out from above the back of the couch. "Hey." Ryan said, approaching the couch and Eric turned around to look at him and smiled. "Hey." When Ryan walked around the couch, the Cuban pulled the other man down on top of him, settling Ryan in his lap. He immediately delved forward, pressing his lips against Ryan's around and slipping his tongue inside the younger man's mouth. Ryan wrapped his arms around Eric's neck and pressed closer, whimpering in the back of his throat. Eric's hand snuck underneath Ryan's shirt, stroking the creamy skin. Ryan moaned appreciatively and ran his hand through Eric's hair.

Eric lifted Ryan from his lap and tugged him upright after he stood. "Come on, lets take this to the bedroom." Ryan nodded. The young man stumbled after Eric, following his lover up the stairs only to find himself pinned against the wall as soon as he stepped inside the bedroom. Eric's hands roamed over his body, tugging at clothes and pressing his hips against Ryan's crotch. The young man moaned and threw his head back, Eric growled and fused his mouth over the soft skin of Ryan's throat, sucking fiercely, knowing that he'd probably leave a mark behind.

Ryan's hands came up to stroke his lover's hair, wandering down on the skin of his neck, kneading and going downwards until he was holding on to his biceps. Eric's hands slipped inside the waistband of Ryan's jeans and the young man's knees buckled, the only reason he was still standing were Eric's arms holding him upright. The Latino growled again and quickly pulled his lover away from the wall. They stumbled to the bed in a frenzy of white hot desire and when their clothes seemed to melt away from their bodies and their skin touched Ryan cried out sharply. He reached out and Eric willingly reached back. Their hands entwined while Eric blanketed his body over Ryan's.

Ryan blinked and his eyes met Eric's, their eyes speaking volumes and Eric smiled gently and delved forward, softly touching his lips to Ryan's while he trusted in slowly. Ryan pressed closer, lifting up his hips, easing Eric's way in and then Eric buried himself to the hilt. The Cuban groaned and Ryan gasped, throwing his head back, gulping for air. He could feel Eric's mouth once again suck on his neck and Eric's teeth nibble on his collar bone. The young man wrapped his legs around Eric's waist when the other man started to thrust. He could already feel his orgasm coming his way and he clawed at Eric's back, his nails tearing through the skin and Eric's thrust sped up, going deeper, harder, faster, more, more, more.

And then they came, in an explosion of love and desire and Eric collapsed on top of Ryan, cushioning his head on the creamy shoulder beneath him. The Cuban sighed contently and snuggled closer while he could already hear Ryan's breathing even out.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

St: please note that the case they're working on in Vegas and in Miami is nothing big and might not even be accurate in anything that I mention. It's just a means to an end, I needed them to go to Vegas on a case so I made something up, this is not as thought through as the case where Calleigh kidnapped Ryan, that was completely different. The case was the story in that situation. In this situation the case hardly matters, except that it is present to take Ryan and Speed to Vegas.

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 3

Ryan gripped the arm of his chair tightly, this was another reason he hadn't been looking forward to going to Vegas, he hated flying, he simply hated it. He sighed and shifted, thinking back to that morning. Only a few hours ago he'd been in his bed, blissfully lying in the arms of Eric and now he was sitting in an airplane next to Timothy Speedle who was fast asleep. Ryan wished again flipped through the file of the current case. He sighed and looked out the window, if it was up to him he'd be on his way to work by now, or he'd be in bed sleeping, or he'd be in his kitchen eating Rowen's waffles and hearing her hum a song he'd never heard before. She'd be smiling and laughing and Eric would come down, wet from his shower and then he'd go up and take a shower himself and then he'd come back down again to find Rowen playfully hitting Eric for a comment he made. After that Rowen would disappear and the both of them would go to work.

Of course there was the possibility Rowen wouldn't show up for breakfast. She did that a lot these days, but Ryan didn't really care. The last few weeks he'd seen her genuinely happy for the first time in a long time and that was worth anything. Rowen was always happy and cheerful and that was her personality, but she was never happy in the true meaning of the word. Sure, she was content, but contentment and happiness weren't the same things. It seemed like Rowen now possessed the simple sort of happiness he experienced with Eric and no matter what he'd done in the past that was something he'd never been able to give her and he glad that she'd found someone who could. He wondered who it was, but she'd tell him in time and the knowledge off that was enough.

He shifted in his seat and stretched, leaning back. He figured he might as well sleep the rest of the flight.

---- ----- -- --- -- -- - - -

Rowen blinked and stretched, feeling the sheets glide along her skin. Her shoulder bumped into someone and she blinked, then realized it was perfectly normal to have someone in bed with her and she smiled. She turned to look at Horatio and smiled widely when she saw him sleeping on his back, his head turned towards her while one hand was underneath her, holding her. She smiled and rolled onto his chest, snuggling closer to his warmth, she could feel him stir but he didn't wake.

Rowen raised her head slightly and looked over Horatio's body at the clock on the nightstand and wrinkled her nose when she realized she'd probably missed Ryan. He was probably on the plane by now. She shrugged and snuggled back down. She'd call him when he arrived. She took her time to study Horatio, reaching up slightly to run her hand through his red hair, he stirred again but didn't wake. She suppressed a giggle and pulled her hand back, she loved his hair, a vibrant, red colour. If she was completely honest his hair had been what attracted her to him in the first place, then his gentle nature and sweet smile had tugged her further in and by the time she'd pulled him down for a kiss she'd been falling in love, hard.

Not that he knew she was in love with him, no, that little piece of information was something she'd keep for herself. Of course she was pretty sure he cared about her deeply as well, Horatio didn't struck her as the kind of man who would sleep with someone if he didn't. She pressed her body closer to him and laid her head on his bare chest, feeling his heart beat underneath her. "Awake already?" His voice startled her and surprised she looked up at him, seeing his somewhat sleepy gaze look back at her and she smiled. "I thought you were still sleeping." She said, her voice soft, barely higher then a whisper and he smiled at her. "I woke up when you tried to get a good look at the clock."

Rowen rolled her eyes and Horatio chuckled. She could feel the tips of his fingers running circles over her bare back and she shivered. She reached up and their lips met, Rowen's hand going for Horatio's hair. The doorbell pierced through the silent house and Rowen groaned, dropping her head on Horatio's chest. She could feel his chuckle vibrate through his torso and sighed. She sat up and frowned. "I wonder who that is." Horatio sat up next to her. "Well whoever it is, shouldn't you go open it?" Rowen sighed and nodded. "I suppose I should." She got out of the bed, feeling Horatio's burning gaze on her naked body and flipped him the bird while she quickly pulled a pyjama bottom on and grabbed a shirt from the floor, not noticing it was Horatio's until she got to the bottom of the steps.

Frowning, she shrugged, she didn't' feel like going back up and then coming back down again. She quickly approached the front door when another ring resounded through the air. She grabbed her trusty baseball bat leaning against the wall next to the door and yanked the door open, stopping in shock at the figure standing in front of her.

"Eric? What are you doing here?"

The Cuban smiled. "I thought we could go out for coffee before work or something." Rowen blinked at him.

Eric looked her up and down and frowned slightly when he saw the shirt she was wearing. It looked vaguely familiar, but it was definitely something he'd never seen Rowen wear, it looked like a male shirt judging by the size of it. Was it Ryan's? No, it was a tasteful, simple, blue button up shirt, no matter how much he loved his lover, Ryan didn't have that good of a fashion sense. So who would...?

His eyes widened when he finally recognized the shirt and he stared at Rowen, who'd turned slightly pale. Eric quickly composed himself. "So, you want to go out for coffee?" Rowen nodded. "Sure, eum, let me get dressed and stuff." She closed the door and Eric just went to lean against his car. He shook his head at himself when he thought back to the shirt. Really, there were hundreds of shirts like that, it was possible Rowen had bought it to sleep in, he'd never actually seen her in her own sleeping wear. When she came over she always snagged something of Ryan's or some of his clothing. It was perfectly possible. Besides Rowen and Horatio, it didn't really struck him as possible.

And the fact that Rowen hadn't invited him in while she was wearing a shirt that looked like one of Horatio's shirts didn't have anything to do with each other.

Rowen leaned against the front door and banged her head against slightly. "You alright?" She whirled around, to find Horatio standing on the bottom step of the stairs. He was wearing his dress pants and an extra t-shirt he kept around. "That was Eric." Rowen said, looking straight at him. Horatio came closer and laid his hand on her shoulder. "And?" He asked, his voice soft. Rowen swallowed. "I think he recognized your shirt." She looked down to the floor. Horatio nodded and then grasped her chin gently, lifting it up and making her look at him. "It's just a shirt." He said and smiled. Rowen laughed and shook her head slightly, leaning her forehead against his chest and smiling when his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

She sighed and looked up at him. "I have to go and get dressed, I'm meeting Eric for coffee." Horatio nodded and released her. Rowen gave him a peck on the lips and quickly ran upstairs, getting dressed in a hurry, fixing her hair and leaving the house in a flurry of movement. Horatio watched her go with a smile.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 4

"Are glass walls mandatory in every crime lab?" Speed asked, looking around. Ryan rolled his eyes.

They'd gotten off the plane about twenty minutes ago and Ryan had felt like he could kiss the grond in relief. Speed had been sleeping and had nearly fallen off his chair when Ryan shook him awake. At the moment however, they were in the Las Vegas Crime Lab after they'd taken a cab. They were supposed to meet up with Conrad Ecklie, head of the Crime Lab. Ryan approached the desk. "Eum, hey, we're from the Miami Dade Crime Lab, we were supposed to meet up with Conrad Ecklie." The young woman smiled and nodded. "Ah, yes. Well Ecklie warned me he wouldn't be able to make it, so he said to call Gil Grissom, he's the head of nightshift. If you'd please wait right here?" Ryan and Speed nodded.

After about a minute or two they were approached by an older looking man with a beard. "Hey, I'm Gil Grissom, I trust you're the CSI's from Miami?" Ryan nodded and shook the older man's hand. "My name is Ryan Wolfe and this is Timothy Speedle." Speed shook the other man's hand as well. "Come on, lets step into my office." Gil said. He lead the way. They stepped inside and Grissom immediately moved behind his desk while Speed and Ryan went to sit in front of the desk. "So you were sent here on a case?" Speed nodded. "Yeah, the name of our victim is Ben Carter, we know this because his dentist compared his dental records with the information we gathered from the body. The dentist lives here in Vegas. It's the only lead we have, there was no other evidence found at the crime scene or on the body except for blood spatter of a second donor on the pant leg, which is unknown. Seeing as we couldn't gather any more evidence and our victim turned out to be a resident of Las Vegas in the state of Nevada, our Lt. saw it fit to send us over here."

Grissom nodded in understanding. "Your Lt. is Horatio Caine, right?" They nodded in conformation. "I understand Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown worked with him before, maybe you've met them?" Grissom asked. Speed nodded. "Ryan wasn't at the crime lab yet back then, but I worked with Warrick and Catherine on that case." Grissom nodded. "Alright, Catherine and I are working on a case together at the moment, so I think it would be best if Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes showed you around." Ryan and Speed shared a look and Speed nodded. "Sure that's fine." Grissom nodded back and stood. "Alright, if you'll follow me please."

Grissom led them to a room that seemed to be a break room. There was a radio playing in the background while two men were playing what seemed to be a game off chess. "Warrick, Nick." The two men looked up. "These are the CSI's from Miami, Timothy Speedle and Ryan Wolfe. Warrick, I trust you already know Mr. Speedle." Ryan could see Speed wince at the term Grissom used and resisted the urge to grin. "Yeah, Speed, it's good to see you again."

The two men rose from their seats and they shook hands. Grissom cleared his throat. "Well, Warrick, Nick, I suggest you lead the two of them around and that Mr. Speedle and Mr. Wolfe update the two of you on the case." The older man nodded and walked off. They watched him go.

Vegas and Miami might both be major cities, but they were two complete different worlds, Ryan reflected as he laid down on one of the beds in their hotel room. Speed had claimed the one by the window and promptly fell asleep, it seemed like his scruffy friend was dealing with jet leg and even though Ryan hated flying jet lag never bothered him. While Vegas was hot it was dry, while Miami was hot and humid. He outskirts of Vegas were greeted by vast and omnious desert, the outskirts Miami were greeted by miles and miles of everglades. In Vegas the tourists went to the strip, in Miami they went to the beaches. In Vegas Ryan was lone, in Miami Ryan had Eric.

---- -- - -- - - ------ -- - -

Rowen sighed and sipped her coffee, watching Eric anxiously. He hadn't mentioned the scene of that morning and hadn't mentioned Horatio at all, yet she had a sneaky suspicion that Eric wasn't going to forget about it. She shifted in her seat and fiddled with her Styrofoam cup. "Are you alright?" Eric asked, noticing the way she was fidgeting. Rowen nodded, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm fine, why shouldn't I be?" She asked, trying to draw a reaction out of Eric. The Cuban however, merely shrugged. "I don't know, you just seem pretty anxious." He said, raising an eyebrow at her, but Rowen didn't take the bate. She shook her head. "I'm not anxious, I have no idea what you're going on about?"

But the way she stopped shifting and put down her cup made it clear she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Eric didn't really know what to think. It seemed like at the moment they were playing this insistent tug of war and no one was winning. Eric still didn't know how to interpret the scene of that morning and Rowen seemed in no hurry to explain anything. Of course it was possible that Rowen had bought that shirt on her own and had merely slept in it and Eric was imagining things and that Rowen had no idea what he was talking about. Right and that's why he'd seen her talk to Horatio outside the crime lab five minutes after shift?

Of course, the two of them didn't know he'd seen them and by any other situation Eric wouldn't have thought anything of it, but thinking about the little scene that morning had him thinking about all kinds of possibilities when he'd seen them together. He'd waited patiently until Horatio had driven off and then had waited another ten minutes before approaching Rowen, who'd been calmly leaning against the wall as if nothing was going on. Of course it could be that nothing was going on and it was all in Eric's head, triggered by Ryan's departure which was driving him insane.

Right.

Ryan's departure was driving him insane, but that didn't mean that his gut instinct would suddenly lie at him. His gut was telling him there was something between Horatio and Rowen, he just needed the proof. So evidence number one: the shirt that Rowen had been wearing when she opened the door that morning was definitely Horatio's. Evidence number two: he'd seen them together more times then he could count on both hands ever since Speed had come back from the dead. Of course that was only two and it was all circumstantial really, but he'd get more evidence, he was a CSI after all, he was an expert at retrieving evidence. Besides, it would keep him occupied while Ryan was away.

"So how is Alexx doing? I haven't talked to her in a while." Rowen asked and Eric shrugged. "The same as usual, she was a bit upset both of her boys were going to Vegas. She doesn't have anyone to mother now." Rowen smiled. "Ah, you got to love Alexx." She grinned and Eric nodded.

------ ------------

"So how are things going in Vegas?" Rowen asked, pressing the phone between her shoulder and her ear while she opened the door. Between worrying if Eric had found out her secret, their secret, and all her patients she hadn't been able to call Ryan. She'd only gotten around to it a few minutes ago. "Everything is fine. Two guys of night shift are showing us around and the case is going relatively well. How are things in Miami?" Rowen bit her lip. "The usual. Alexx is a bit upset because both you and Speed have left for Vegas. Eric is a bit bored without his lover and his best friend. And I miss you." She could almost see his smile. "I miss you too." Ryan spoke in the phone. "I'm going to call Eric later, I need to talk to him." Rowen nodded. "Yeah, you must miss him a lot." She winced at the thought of Eric mentioning what happened that morning. "Yeah, I miss him a lot." And Rowen could hear the loneliness in his voice. "Yeah, but you guy's will be back soon, right?"

"Hopefully."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 5

Eric hated waking up alone, he hated waking up alone in the middle of the night. There was nothing more devastating then turning around in the bed and missing the warmth of a certain beautiful body next to him. He sighed as he turned around in bed, looking at the empty pillow next to him. Normally he'd be sleeping by now, cushioned by Ryan's creamy shoulder or Ryan blanketing him. But with Ryan gone he could hardly sleep, he sighed and tried to make himself more comfortable, but only resulted in reminding himself once again that the space next to him was empty.

The phone rang and Eric jumped, not expecting a call so late. He reached for the phone and flipped it open. "Delko speaking."

"Hey, Eric."

"Ryan." Never before in his life had Eric been more grateful to hear his lover's voice, except for that time he'd been kidnapped by Calleigh. He smiled to himself and settled back down in the bed. "So how is Las Vegas." He could hear Ryan laugh. "Las Vegas is fine. How is Miami?" "It's coping with your loss." He could hear Ryan chuckle. "I'll be back soon." Eric nodded. "Yeah." "I didn't wake you did I?" Ryan asked, concern in his voice and Eric rolled his eyes even though Ryan couldn't see it. "No, you didn't, I couldn't sleep." "Miss me too much?" Eric smiled, confident that Ryan had no idea how much Eric actually missed him. "Yeah, I miss you too much." There was a few minutes of silence on the other side of the phone. "I miss you too." Ryan's voice sounded chocked up and Eric wondered with dismay if his lover was crying. "Ryan, are you alright?"

He heard Ryan clear his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just... I really miss you." Eric smiled gently, even though Ryan couldn't see him. "I miss you too." Eric wished he could reach out and pull his lover into his arms. He wanted to comfort himself and his lover physically, but that was impossible. They talked for a little while, Ryan telling about Nick, Warrick and Speed and Eric talking about Rowen and the people they knew from work. However, Eric didn't say anything about Rowen and Horatio knowing his lover wouldn't handle it well and he didn't think Speed would be able to deal with a panicking Ryan.

It was only after he woke up to the sun's bright rays shining through the window that he realized Ryan's voice had soothed him to sleep.

----- -- --- --- -- ----

Rowen studied herself in the mirror and pulled up her collar a little higher then groaned when the fabric went back down. There was nothing in her closet that had a high enough collar to cover up the hickey. She glared at it. It was going to give Eric another clue, it would confirm she was seeing someone and then he would obviously think back on "the shirt-episode". She sighed and turned around, picking up another shirt and studying it carefully. This might do it, she thought. She quickly tried it on and turned back to the mirror. Well, you could still see it, but it wasn't as noticeable as with all the other shirts. Rowen sighed, she just hoped Eric wasn't keeping a too close eye on her.

She walked back in to the bedroom. "Next time you feel like marking me, please don't do it too high." She said, looking at the man getting dressed. The red head looked up and smiled. "But that would defeat any purpose of marking you, wouldn't it?" Rowen rolled her eyes. "Do you want to give Eric more evidence?" Horatio shrugged. "You wanted to tell them, if we let Eric figure it out on his own and then tell him, we'll have him on our side when we tell Ryan. Because you have to admit, it's Ryan who's going to freak out the most." Rowen smiled and nodded. "Sneaky, I knew there was a reason you were the head of dayshift." Horatio chuckled. "I have to go, get to work." He said, turning to her. She smiled and nodded, he kissed her and left. Rowen grinned and flopped back down on the bed.

Horatio didn't even have to go home anymore to change, he had enough clothes at her place. She grinned, it made it able for him to stay longer. She turned around to lie on her belly. Maybe it was time she told Horatio how much she loved him. She sighed and turned back on her back. She really hoped he loved her too.

---- ------- ------- -----

Horatio got out his car at the crime lab. He quickly headed inside, well aware of the fact that even though he wasn't late he wasn't as early as he used to be. He used to be the first to come in, but those days were behind him ever since he started seeing Rowen. He came in about the same time as the others and he didn't stay until midnight anymore, even though he still stayed until late. He was also well aware of the fact that Rowen didn't meet Ryan and Eric anymore for breakfast and that she never spend the night at their place anymore. Instead she showed up at the crime lab at eleven o'clock and dragged him home. Horatio smiled to himself, it was odd he reflected to think of Rowen's house so quickly as home.

Maybe it was because Rowen's house was warm and welcome, while his own house was cold and impersonal. He'd never really spend any effort into it to make it feel like home. He'd only used it for sleeping and taking a shower and then he'd been off to work. If he thought about it, he hadn't seen the inside of his house for two weeks now even though he decidedly spent less time at the crime lab. When it came to Rowen, he'd stopped trying to hold himself back a long time ago.

It was simply impossible to not be overwhelmed by Rowen, the way she talked, laughed, moved, everything. She was warm, friendly and she could stand on her own two feet. And if he was completely honest with himself, he was so deeply in love with her he'd never find his way back out.

TBC

Warning: Now follow some insane ramblings of the author; feel free to ignore them if you wish.

St: Okay, so this chapter was mostly Rowen and Horatio centred, that was because I wanted to make sure everyone understood that these two really loved each other. Secondly, my theory has always been that Horatio and the other women never worked out because even though they were strong and capable women they always looked to him for comfort. Horatio felt the need to protect Yelina, to keep her safe from all of Ray's mistakes. Rebecca Nevins was strong and Horatio did confide in her, but she was a bitch, so I won't go there. And Marisol was dying, she relied on him to be there for her and he was. And even though I like the pairing, I don't think that they would have been good for each other on a long term. That's why I thought to pair Rowen with Horatio, Rowen is strong and capable and she'll stay on her own feet even if she found someone to be there for her, because it would take something powerful to blow Rowen away. Horatio wouldn't feel the need to protect her and they'd be equals more then anything else.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 6

Eric watched Rowen as she sipped her coffee and his eyes wandered down to the barely visible hickey.

Evidence number 1: The shirt

Evidence number 2: The scene in the parking lot after the shirt episode

Evidence number 3: The hickey

He wondered how much more evidence he would be presented with before he actually found it worth to address Rowen. The evidence was all circumstantial and he knew it. But people would get convicted on more, he knew, circumstantial evidence was, in a lot of cases, more acceptable to some people if a proper story was woven around it, sometimes even more acceptable then direct evidence.

And at the moment all the indirect evidence was certainly acceptable to Eric. Of course the fact that his gut was telling him there was something between Rowen and Horatio was a great help. For a minute he wondered why he didn't confront Rowen, but then he decided that confronting her wouldn't be nearly as much fun as to find evidence and watch her keep an anxious eye on him.

It was fun to see Rowen a bit anxious and nervous while she was normally always so cocky and self assured. It was definitely a change and Eric found it amusing. Even better, Rowen knew Eric found it amusing and was absolutely pissed off, but didn't want to react on it because that would only confirm what Eric was thinking. Eric leaned back in his seat, it was quite the game they were playing. Rowen sipped her coffee again and decided to break the silence between them. "So have you heard from Ryan?" Eric raised an eyebrow at her, was she trying to find out if he told Ryan anything about Horatio and her? Eric shrugged. "He called me last night and we talked."

Rowen narrowed her eyes at him, knowing exactly what Eric was thinking and not caring that her plan was so glaringly obvious. "What did you guys talk about?" Rowen asked, her voice slightly curious and a hint of malice, as if she was promising him a world of pain if he didn't tell her. "We talked about a lot things, work, cases, how much we missed each other..." Eric trailed off, leaving an interesting opening behind.

She glared at him, but didn't dare vocalizing what they both knew to be true. "Have you heard from Ryan?" Eric asked, throwing her question back at her. Rowen shook her head. "Yes, I called him, I hadn't been able to say goodbye in the morning so I decided to call him later." Eric nodded.

"So how is Horatio?" Eric asked, throwing her a glance and smirking when she gritted her teeth. It was the first open implication he'd made that there was anything else besides friendship in the relationship between Rowen and Horatio. "You're the one who works with him." Rowen countered and Eric's smirk widened when he realized she'd skilfully avoided the question. "Yeah, but I haven't seen him since yesterday." He said casually and Rowen's jaw tightened at Eric's implication that Rowen had seen Horatio earlier that day. It didn't matter if it was true or not, not to Rowen anyway.

The young woman shrugged. "I don't see how that would lead you to asking me how he is." She said, raising an eyebrow at him, daring him to speak out loud what he suspected and at the same time threatening him to walk away from the direction this conversation was taking.

Eric carefully weighed his words and his choices. He could walk away from this now and find more evidence before asking her about it and prolonging this amusing little game they were playing or he could confront and directly ask her about it now and end all the fun he was bound to have looking for evidence. He decided to end the conversation and keep looking for evidence, he needed something to occupy himself with while Ryan was in Vegas and jacking off in the shower with the image of his lover in his mind didn't count.

"I suppose you're right, I have to go to work anyway." He got up from his seat and gave her a kiss on the cheek, confirming that there weren't any hard feelings between each other while they played the game and quickly moved for his car, smiling when Rowen cheerfully waved at him.

---- -- -- - -- ----- -- - -- ------ - -- - -- -

"Aside from the fact that this guy had an argument with our victim on the day he disappeared we don't have any evidence. There is nothing to give us a warrant for the guy's DNA to check it with the blood found on the pant leg of the victim. And that's another dead end." Speed sighed, sighing and leaning back in his chair.

Ryan kept his eyes strained on crime scene pictures they'd taken with them from Miami, his eyes going over little detail even though he knew they wouldn't find anything. Nick shifted across from him and shook his head. "There has to be something, there is nothing like a perfect murder." The man's Texan brawl resonated through the otherwise quiet lay out room. Warrick shook his head and leaned against one of the glass walls. "It doesn't look like it man. This case is going really cold really fast."

Ryan nodded at Warrick's words, not finding the energy within himself to protest. Speed shrugged. "I don't like it, but I'm afraid there isn't anything else we can do. There is no way we can get the guy's DNA and even if we do, there is still the possibility the DNA doesn't match. We don't have a clue whether he's the suspect or not. My gut isn't telling me anything." "Maybe you left your gut in Miami." Ryan quipped and Speed glared at him while Warrick and Nick snickered.

Ryan lifted his head and picked up a black magic marker from the table and went to one of the glass walls. He found it amusing, even though his OCD screamed at him every time he did, to use the glass walls to write notes on if people were stuck on the case. He couldn't really picture anyone in Miami using the glass walls like that.

He quickly wrote NEIGHBOUR on the wall in bold letters. "Alright, we know that the neighbour had a fight with the victim on the day he got murdered according to a witness who'd seen them fight in front of the apartment building. We don't know what the fight was about and the guy won't tell us. But he isn't the only suspect we've got, right?" Ryan asked.

Nick nodded, standing up and meeting Ryan near the glass walls, picking up a red magic marker. "The other suspect is the girlfriend." And Nick wrote GIRLFRIEND on the wall in bold, red letters. "According to one of the guy's friends, Kyle Mandate, Ben, our victim, was going to break up with her." Nick continued. "But apparently he hadn't given a reason as to why." Speed said, looking at the wall in renewed interest.

Warrick stood and grabbed a blue magic marker from the table and joined the other two men at the glass wall. He drew a big X through GIRLFRIEND. "According to the DNA results, the blood found on the pant leg was male."

Nick used his red marker to scribble through the blue X. "She could have had an accomplice." Nick said. Speed rose from his seat, deciding to join in with the fun and grabbed the last magic marker from the table, a green one. He swiftly drew an X through the word NEIGHBOUR. "According to Alexx' s autopsy rapport Ben Robbinson had died approximately five hours before he had been found. Which means he died in Miami. We checked, the neighbour was in Vegas at the time off the murder." Speed said. Ryan, Nick and Warrick nodded.

"What about Kyle Mandate?" Nick asked. Warrick shook his head. "As far as we know he doesn't have a motive." "Maybe the killer is still in Miami." Nick said and Ryan sighed. "Then we came all the way out here for nothing."

Speed shook his head. "According to Alexx the stab wounds were pretty deep, indicating someone with upper body strength, indicating a male which matches with the DNA results. But she also said that the first stab wound caused the most damage and would have killed off our victim, yet the attacker kept stabbing which indicates a crime of passion. And for it to be a crime of passion there should be some emotional involvement. And everybody the guy had emotional involvement with is in Vegas."

Warrick nodded. "Speed has a point. The guy who did it has to be in Vegas. But he had to be in Miami at the time, lets take a look at the passengers manifest off every flight to Miami in the twenty four hours before our vic got killed then cross reference with the people our guy had contact with."

The other three blinked at him. Warrick shrugged. "What?" The three turned back to look at each other and Ryan frowned. "Why didn't we think of this before?" Speed shrugged. "Because it would have been too easy?"

---- ----- - - ------ -- - -- --

Rowen smiled at the boy, trying to ease his fear a little bit while she disinfected a small patch of skin. "Now don't worry, this won't hurt a thing. It's just a small shot." Rowen said, taking the syringe in one gloved hand. The young boy swallowed and eased away from her. She smiled softly and put the syringe back down. She lowered herself until she was at his eye level. "You scared?" The boy nodded slightly and she smiled. "When I got my first shot, I was scared too, you know, I was so afraid it would hurt so much. So you know what I did? I closed my eyes and hummed my favourite song. And by the time my song was over and I opened my eyes it was over. You wanna give that a try?" The small boy nodded. She stood and smiled again. "Alright then lets practice first right?"

The boy nodded. "Alright, close your eyes." The boy did as he was told and noiselessly she picked up the syringe. "Now, start humming, all the way from the start of the song." The boy did as he was told and started humming. Rowen carefully inserted the syringe and gave him the shot. By the time the boy stopped humming she'd already put the syringe back down.

"Alright, now open your eyes." The boy did as he was told. Rowen smiled. "Now, lets disinfect this again, just to be sure." Rowen said, dabbing at the microscopic tiny puncture wound the boy didn't even know was there. "Alright, now for real, close your eyes." The boy looked up at her and she gave him an encouraging nod. The boy closed his eyes. "Start humming." Rowen ordered gently and the boy did as he was told.

Rowen waited patiently until the boy finished humming, obviously bracing himself and tensing the muscles in his arms. If Rowen had tried to give him the shot now she wouldn't have been able to penetrate the muscles. "Alright you can open your eyes." The boy did as he was told and she smiled at him. "Alright, all done. Now, you can pick what colour band aid." The boy looked at the two different band aids she held in her hand. One was of Spongebob Squarepants, the other one of Batman. The boy reached up for the Batman one and Rowen carefully covered up the small puncture wound on the boy's upper arm. "Good choice." She said, grinning and the boy nervously grinned back at her.

She helped the boy of her examination table and walked with him to the waiting room. His mother quickly shook her hand, said her goodbye's and gently tugged her child along with her. Rowen watched them go with a sad smile on her face. She sighed and went back into her office.

Rowen sighed as she dialled the familiar numbers on her cell phone. She waited until the phone stopped ringing. "Wolf." Ryan barked into the phone and Rowen rolled her eyes, she was going to have to work on her friend's social skills, like saying hello first or something. "Hey, it's me." She said, leaning against the wall of her office.

"Hey Rowen, how are you?" Ryan asked. Rowen sighed. "I've been better." She said. "What's wrong?" Ryan asked, concerned and Rowen smiled softly. "I'm just a bit down, that's all." Rowen answered and she could see the frown gracing Ryan's features even though he was in Vegas. "How come?" Rowen smiled. "I'm thinking about the things I want more then anything and whether I have the possibility of having it and whether I have the possibility to have it with the things I have now and the things I want now."

There was silence and she waited until Ryan picked her sentence apart and analyzed it.

"So you want something, but you don't know if you can have it while keeping everything you want and have in the present time." Ryan said and Rowen nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Yes." She said.

There was another pause at the other side of the connection. "What is it that you want?" Ryan asked, already knowing the answer. "What I wanted when we were back in collage." She could almost see his smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you." Rowen smiled. "It's not your fault, you found out you were gay. It would have been irresponsible." Rowen said, staring out the window.

"Why now all of the sudden?" Ryan asked, having a good clue to what the answer was, but wanting to check anyway. "I found someone I want to have it with." Rowen spoke into the phone. "Who is it?" He asked and Rowen chuckled. "I'm not telling you just yet." Ryan frowned. "Why not?" Rowen grinned. "I'll tell you when I get back." Ryan sighed and there was silence for a few minutes.

"And you're afraid you're going to lose him if you mention what you want." Ryan said, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened and Rowen nodded. "I don't know if he wants the same things. And I don't want to loose him, but I don't know if I can stay with him if he doesn't want the same things as I do. But we haven't been together for that long so I don't want to bring it up yet." Rowen said.

"But you want it now?" Ryan's voice asked her and she nodded. "Yeah."

TBC

St: cookies for the one who can guess what Rowen wants


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 7

Ryan quickly made his way to the DNA lab. They'd finally been able to get a warrant for the DNA of the neighbour. He'd taken a mouth swab and was now bringing it to DNA himself, the faster this case got wrapped up, the faster he could go home. His steps slowed however when loud music reached his ears and he saw a young man using test tubes as drumsticks with a rubber glove stretched over his head.

Ryan blinked and then shook his head, it looked like every city had its nutcase. Miami had Rowen and Vegas had this guy. He knocked on the door and the guy turned in his chair, waving and turning off the music. He put the test tubes down and grinned, not removing the glove from his head.

"Is this the DNA lab?" Ryan asked, wanting to be sure he was actually in the right lab. The guy nodded. "Greg Sanders, and you are?" Greg asked, raising his eyebrows. Ryan smiled. "Ryan Wolfe, I'm from Miami." Greg nodded. "Right, Catherine mentioned something about CSI's from Miami."

Greg grinned. "So, how can I help you?" Ryan held up the box with the swab. "Saliva." He said and the young man grinned. "Ah, DNA." He took the box from Ryan and opened it with a flourish. "You want this done now?" Ryan nodded. "As fast as possible." Greg grinned. "Quick with Quality, my speciality." Ryan grinned back.

A ringing sound pierced through the air and Ryan, quickly grabbed his phone. "Wolfe." The line disconnected. Ryan flipped the phone closed and frowned on it, then shrugged and placed it on the table. "Will you page Nick or Warrick when you're done with those?" Ryan asked and Greg nodded. "Will do."

Ryan turned around and left. The music was turned back on.

Ten minutes later a ringing sound pierced through the music, barely overhead but insistent. It managed to grab Greg's attention and the young man turned around in confusion before his eyes landed on Ryan's cell phone that was still lying on the table.

A grin spread over Greg's face as he quickly turned off the music and picked up the phone. He flipped it open. "Hello." He said cheerfully. "Hello? Who is this?" A highly amused female voice asked. "This is Greg Sanders on Ryan Wolfe's phone. He's from Miami." Greg said, leaning back in his chair.

The woman on the other side of the phone laughed. "I know. I'm from Miami too. I tried to reach Ryan about ten minutes ago but the line got severed." Greg grinned. "Ah, so you're the girlfriend?" The woman laughed again. "Ryan's girlfriend? You don't know him very well do you?"

"I must admit I don't."

More laughter.

"Well I'll inform you I'm more like a sister really. Anyway, how did you get his phone?"

"He left it behind in my lab."

"Ah, so you work in the Las Vegas Crime Lab." The female voice said and Greg nodded, only then realizing that he didn't know her name. "Yes, I do ma'am, I work for the ever diligent Gil Grissom in the DNA lab. I slave my life away to catch criminals with the ever correct DNA results. But who, may I ask, are you?"

The woman laughed again. "Rowen Descamps."

"Rowen Descamps, lovely name."

"Thank you Greg."

"So you live in Miami?"

"Yes I do."

"How are the beaches?"

"Full of sand."

Greg laughed. There was a knock on the glass walls and he looked up to see Ryan standing in the doorway, his eyebrows disappearing in his hair when he realized Greg was using his phone. "Heya Ryan." Greg said, waving and he could hear Rowen's laughter on the other side of the phone.

"Oh, he's finally realized he lost his phone?"

Greg grinned and beckoned Ryan in. "It would appear so. Do you want me to give him his phone back?" Rowen laughed. "Please do." Greg grinned and handed Ryan his phone. "Rowen?" Ryan asked, speaking into the phone. He was greeted with laughter.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked and Ryan rolled his eyes. "I just did." He could almost see her roll her eyes. "Alright, whatever you say." Ryan rolled his eyes again. "Is there any particular reason as to why you called?" He asked. "Nope, I just wanted to see if we could talk. But seeing as you're still in the lab I'm guessing it's not a good time."

Ryan shook his head. "Not really, I'll call you later, how does that sound?" "Sounds good, I'll talk to you later Ryan." "Bye Rowen." He hung up and turned to look at Greg, who was grinning at him, thoroughly amused. Ryan couldn't help it and grinned back.

----- ------ -----

Rowen stared at her phone for a minute and then rolled her eyes. "What was that all about?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She gave him a smile and shrugged. "Ryan forgot his phone somewhere and there was this amusing fellow who picked it up."

Eric grinned. "With amusing I'm assuming you mean someone like you." Rowen grinned. "I don't really know, but he definitely sounded a bit like me." Eric leaned back in his seat. "Good to know that there are others like you in the world?" He asked. Rowen grinned.

The young woman studied the Cuban for a minute and decided she had enough. She'd tried to reach Ryan and while she was on the phone Eric had joined her at her table. She hadn't even known he was around. But now she needed someone to talk too and Ryan was in Vegas. Eric was next on her list of best friends.

"Horatio and I are dating." Rowen said casually, sipping her coffee, watching with an amused smile when Eric choked on his coffee. "You alright?" She asked, a fake note of concern colouring her voice. Eric glared at her and Rowen rolled her eyes. "Oh don't give me that look, you knew, you were just waiting for confirmation."

Eric stopped glaring. "That's true, but you didn't have to spring it on me like that." Rowen shrugged. "That's true, but what would have been the fun in that?" Eric glared at her. "Is there any reason you're telling me this now?"

Rowen sighed. "I need someone to talk to about Horatio."

Eric eyed her. "Talk about what concerning Horatio?" She gave him a look. "I'm not going to tell you about our sex life if that's what you're thinking." Eric groaned and dropped his head on the table. "You just had to put sex life and Horatio in the same context didn't you?"

Rowen cackled and then grinned. "Anyway, I need to talk to you." Eric lifted his head from the table. "Alright."

Rowen sighed. "Do you think…" She fidgeted in her seat. "Do you think Horatio would be averse to the idea of having children?" Eric blinked at her. "You want to have kids with him?" Rowen leaned forward slightly. "I've always wanted kids and I love Horatio. I'd love to have kids with him, yes."

Eric blinked at her. "I don't… I'm not sure, I mean, he's my boss and he's a friend of mine, but we're not that close. We've never talked about things like that." Rowen nodded and took a sip of her coffee. Eric hesitated. "Maybe you should talk to him about that." Rowen hesitated. "I haven't even told him I love him yet."

"Well maybe you should do that first." Eric suggested and Rowen sighed. "I just… I just don't want it to end, whatever 'it' is." Eric rolled his eyes. "Horatio isn't going to break it off because you love him."

Rowen glared at him. "I know that dim wit. But if he says that having children isn't something he wants to do, then I'm going to have to break it off. Because, I want children and I want to get married and I want the works and I can't… I can't let go off that dream, no matter how much I love Horatio."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 8

_Oh God… _

_A breathy moan_

"_Love… love you." _

He watched the moonlight dance over her bare back, spilling over her smooth skin and setting a glow alight on her flesh. She was beautiful like this, but maybe he preferred her during the day when she was happy and bubbly and more pretty then beautiful.

But it was dark outside at that moment and there was only the moon and she was slumbering next to him, lost in her sleep yet still clinging to his arm. She snuggled closer every few minutes or so and Horatio had to smile at the thought she couldn't be still even in her sleep.

Yet she was filled with a tranquillity she didn't posses awake. Her face was set in a peaceful expression, not bubbling with silliness as she grinned widely or set in a scowl when Ryan or Eric were messing things up. Her eyes were closed, hiding sharp blue eyes from sight.

He reached out and brushed some of her hair back, thinking back on a mere few hours ago. She'd told him she loved him and he'd been too stunned to say anything in return. He'd known she'd cared for him on some level, but… She was too alive, too vibrant, too young to ever fall in love with someone like him. It didn't matter he'd fallen head over heels for her.

He felt her shift against him and he tightened his grip on her. She sighed in contentment.

He should have known though, that she wouldn't just pick up and leave. Should have known that she would go against the norm and fall in love with him because she different. She was a breath of fresh air in his world filled with people who brought death and only cared about money or fame.

She stirred and he could feel it the moment she woke up, her breathing quickened and her body moved in a stretch, her feet reaching for the end of the bed while her head seemed to reach up to the top. He looked down at her as she lifted up her head and blinked sleepily at him. She frowned slightly. "You're awake."

He brushed some of her hair back, his fingers ghosting over her skin and she shivered. Horatio smiled. "Is that such a bad thing?"

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "You should be sleeping, people need to sleep. Sleep is good, just like coffee. But of course coffee is good in a complete different way, but good none the less."

He listened to her ramble for a while before interrupting her, pushing his lips against hers. She pressed back against him, tangling her hands in his hair and pulling him closer. Her other hand darted over his arm to his shoulder. He pulled back and kissed her forehead. "I love you." He whispered and she smiled at him. "I love you too." Rowen smiled at him, gently.

Horatio smiled. "Now go to sleep." He said and she smiled again. "Good night Horatio." She snuggled down on his shoulder and fell asleep, Horatio followed her soon after.

--------------- --- --------- -- -------

Eric stared at his ceiling, than turned his head to look at the empty space where Ryan normally slept. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep, only to open them again when the image of his lover swam in his mind's eye.

He hated the fact that Ryan was in Vegas and Eric couldn't reach out for a kiss, a hug, a brush of hand and against hand, nothing. He could hear his lover's voice when they spoke on the phone, but it wasn't enough.

Eric had no idea it would have been so difficult to let go of Ryan for just a few days, hadn't realized how much he would miss and long for his lover. He'd known it wouldn't be easy, but he hadn't counted on it being this hard. He turned his head the other way and his eye fell on the phone by the bed.

He could call Ryan and listen to his voice for a while, Eric bit his lip. He didn't want to disturb his lover. He sighed and turned to lie on his stomach, slipping his hands underneath his pillow and snuggling into the fabric, wishing it was a creamy shoulder underneath his head.

By the time Eric had fallen asleep the sun was just about to come up and only a few hours later he was rudely awakened by a form jumping up and down on the bed. Knowing who it was without opening his eyes he shoved Rowen from the bed, smirking smugly when he heard a yelp and a loud thud.

His satisfaction was not long lived however when Rowen pulled the curtains wide open and sunlight filled the bedroom. Groaning to himself, he grabbed a pillow and buried his head underneath, grimacing at the idea of having to go to work. He could feel the bed dip and two seconds later Rowen was jumping on the bed once again.

Sighing he sat up straight and glared at the young woman, who stopped jumping but stood there grinning widely. Eric sighed and decided to take to ask, because she was obviously waiting on him. "What's got you so happy?"

Rowen squealed and Eric raised an eyebrow at her. The young woman grinned again and flopped down on the bed. "Horatio told me he loved me." She clapped in her hands like an excited child and Eric couldn't help but grin back at her.

"Congratulations." He said and she nodded. "Now, come on, I'm making waffles." She said, still smiling and she got up from the bed and left the room. Eric sighed and fell back onto his pillow, taking a few deep breaths. He finally got up and headed for the shower.

After a shower he made his way down stairs and stopped short when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. One voice was feminine and definitely belonged to Rowen, the other one was a soft timbre that Eric recognized but couldn't quite place.

Eric shrugged and pushed open the kitchen door, his eyes going to Rowen who was doing something with the waffle iron and then his eyes landed on a red headed figure sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, looking completely at ease.

Horatio smiled and nodded in greeting, Eric smiled back and nodded as well. The Cuban took the seat across from the red head and Rowen put a stack of waffles in front off him. Eric noticed Horatio had the same stack in front of him. Rowen sank down on another chair, next to Horatio and smiled brightly.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 9

Ryan glowered at the DNA results, but no matter what he did, they wouldn't change. The DNA found on the pant leg of the victim didn't match with the neighbour and they were back to square one.

"No matter how much you stare at the results they aren't going to change." Speed remarked dryly. Ryan glared at him and then turned to look at the sketch of the suspects they had drawn on one of the numerous glass walls.

They were definitely missing something.

There was the neighbour, but the evidence didn't match.

There was the girlfriend, but the DNA was male so it couldn't be hers.

There was the best friend, but he wasn't in Miami during the time.

They were definitely missing something or someone. Ryan frowned at the sketch, something… At that moment the door opened and Nick breezed, reading through a file. He looked up and grinned at Speed and Ryan. "Guess who was in Miami at the time the kid got killed?"

Ryan blinked and Speed shrugged. Warrick stepped in dramatically. "The girlfriend."

Speed looked from Nick to Warrick. "Did you guys rehearse that?" Ryan snickered and Nick rolled his eyes. "Will you just listen? The girlfriend was in Miami." Ryan stood. "When did she get there?" "Well, apparently she got there before our victim, he took a flight after her."

Speed stepped closer. "According to the boyfriend, our victim wanted to break it off with the girlfriend. Maybe that's why he followed her to Miami. The girlfriend couldn't handle being dumped and stabbed him." Ryan shook his head. "The DNA we found isn't female."

The other deflated from the thought that they might be able to wrap up the case. Warrick shifted. "Maybe the blood isn't from the killer." Ryan stared at him. "You're telling me that about two drops in a huge stain of blood doesn't belong to the killer?" Warrick conceded. "I get you."

Nick sighed. "Do we know why he wanted to break it off with his girlfriend?" Ryan shook his head. "The best friend said that our victim never told him why he wanted to break it off. The girlfriend said that she didn't even know he was going to break it off. And there isn't anyone else. The kid's parents are dead."

Speed leaned against the glass walls. "Maybe we'll figure something out from his phone records." Nick nodded. "Alright, I'll go and see if Brass has got a hold of them yet." The Texan left and the other three scattered about the room again.

"I don't get it." Speed said, staring at the sketch on the wall. "There is hardly any evidence, we have no motive. As far as we know, everyone got along great with him, except for his neighbour who thought the guy's music was too loud and that's hardly a reason to kill someone. Besides the neighbour's DNA doesn't match."

Ryan leaned back in his seat. "I think it has something to do with the girlfriend. She doesn't have anything to do with it, but I think there is something deeper as to the reason why he wanted to break up with her."

Warrick nodded. "How do you figure?" Ryan shrugged. "I don't know, my gut maybe." Ryan said. Warrick grinned. "At least you didn't leave it behind in Miami."

---- ---- --- ----

Rowen sighed and stretched, working out the kinks in her neck. She'd been working on paper work all day, grateful that it seemed like all of her patients were in good health for once. She stood and quickly cleaned up, putting away everything in files and shutting down her computer.

She checked her watched and groaned, she'd been staying late and it was passed eleven o'clock already. She sighed and quickly made her way outside of the building, stopping in her tracks when she noticed a familiar hummer by the sidewalk and a familiar red headed figure leaning against.

She smiled softly, one corner of her mouth tilting and she looked at the ground. She looked up again and grinned broadly approaching Horatio. "Hey." She said. "Hey." He answered, holding out a Styrofoam cup for her to take. She chuckled and took it from him, leaning against the car next to him.

"So, you're my ride huh?" She asked, turning to look at him. He smiled softly. "I guess I am." She smiled back and sipped her coffee. She sighed softly and looked back at the door of her practice. Horatio nudged her elbow slightly, causing her to look back at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked softly, his eyes warm and she shivered slightly underneath his gaze. But she shook it off, standing on her feet firmer and she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

He smiled softly. "You're so quiet." Rowen laughed, clear and bright. "I suppose." She said, chuckles still present in her voice. He reached out and brushed some her hair back, his hand resting on her cheek. Rowen's smile saddened.

"I need to talk to you." She said, her voice as soft as his. "What is it?" He asked. Rowen hesitated, this wasn't the most private of places, but she didn't want to break the tender moment between them in favour off moving somewhere else.

"I… " She sighed and took a deep breath. "There is one thing I've always wanted in life. Besides taking care of myself and making sure Ryan was alright in the mean time. I've always… I want a baby, I want a husband, I want the works you know. I love you Horatio, I really do, I've never felt like this for anyone. But I want the works, it's my biggest dream and if …if that doesn't work for you then this, between us, won't work at all."

Her eyes were sad and she looked down, for the first time in life not meeting something head on. She could feel his long fingers grasp her chin, lifting her head up to meet his eyes. She took a shuddering breath when she noticed he was smiling gently.

"I suppose we're going to have to get married then." He whispered.

Rowen's eyes widened and she threw her arms around him and she could feel how his arms wrapped around her waist, pressing her closer against him. They parted, still in each others arms. Rowen blinked at him. "Fuck, I'm getting married."

Horatio laughed.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 10

Horatio watched Rowen and Eric interact with an amused smile on his face. If these two handled the brother/sister relationship like this he wondered how it would be like with Ryan. The young woman next to him laughed at something Eric said. "I guess you're right." She said, the laughter clear in her voice.

Eric shook his head, grinning. "Ryan is going to freak when he comes back." Rowen shrugged. "I'll spring it on him when we're alone, then we'll let him freak in peace." Horatio chuckled and Eric laughed. "Freak in peace?"

Rowen grinned. "F.I.P. That's coming on my tombstone." Horatio and Eric shared a look and Rowen looked from one to the other. "What? What was that?" Eric shook his head and Horatio smirked. "Nothing."

Rowen whacked him playfully on the arm. "You two are ganging up on me or something?" Horatio merely smirked wider and Eric grinned. "When we're up against you, we could use all the power we can get." Horatio grinned back. Rowen huffed and turned her head, not looking at either off them.

Horatio's snuck underneath her shirt, hidden by the table and she shivered. "Rowen." He said and Rowen turned to look at him. "That's cheating."

Eric laughed.

----- ---------

"So this is the number he called repeatedly for over the past month." Speed said.

The four off them were going over their victim's phone records. Ryan nodded. "Yeah, he called the number every day and they talked for at least three hours, sometimes even longer." Speed nodded. "That's a long time to talk on the phone."

Warrick stared at the list intently. "Do we know whose number this is?" Nick nodded. "Yeah, according to Brass it belongs to a certain Bart Verbeke, Brass is bringing him in right now."

Ryan nodded and grabbed a magic marker from the table and approached one of the glass walls again. He wrote BART VEBEKE on it, drew a line and then wrote BEN, the name of their victim. The line connected the two names together and Ryan wrote a question mark above it.

"How are they connected?" He wondered as the others watched him work. Ryan drew another line from BEN and wrote GIRLFRIEND, then tied Bart Verbeke and girlfriend together by another line. Again he drew a question mark over the line.

"You think the girlfriend and Bart Verbeke are connected?" Warrick asked, his voice smooth. Ryan turned around and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

At that moment Nick's cell phone went off. "Hello? Alright, thanks." He hung up the phone and looked at his fellow criminalists. "Brass has got Bart Verbeke in an interrogation room. Who's going to check it out?"

"I vote for Ryan." Speed spoke up. Nick grinned and Warrick pulled a coin from his pocket. "Heads or tails?" He asked Nick. "Heads." Nick answered. Warrick tossed. "Tails." Warrick said and Nick sighed. "Alright, that's settled then, Warrick and Ryan are going into the interrogation room."

The interrogation was small with a mirror glass in one wall and a door in the other. There weren't any other windows. There was a table with two chairs on one side and one chair on the other, where Bart Verbeke was sitting. Warrick and Ryan took the two other chairs.

"Mr. Verbeke, thanks for coming." Ryan said and the young man sneered at them. "It wasn't like I had a choice." Ryan shrugged. "Still, thanks for coming. So, do you know this young man?"

He slid an autopsy photograph across the table and the young man took one look at it, then shook his head. "No, I don't." His eyes shifted to the mirror glass and back to the two CSI's.

Warrick and Ryan shared a look at the blatant lie. "Well, we think you do know this guy. Because you two have been calling each other for three hours a day for a whole month." Warrick said, leaning closer. The young man across from them shifted in his seat. "Alright, I knew him, but not that well."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Really? You didn't know him that well? Come on, man, three hours that's a long time to be talking on the phone." The young man shifted again, looking uneasy and Ryan felt that twisting feeling in his gut again.

Ryan and Warrick shared a look before both standing. "Sit tight Bart." Warrick said and the two of them left. They took one step outside the interrogation room and stopped. "He so did it." Ryan said, looking back at the door. Warrick nodded. "That guy is way too nervous to be innocent."

Nick and Speed approached them, they'd watched the interrogation from behind the mirror glass. Speed shook his head. "That guy is in way over his head." Nick nodded. "I suggest we check his name on any passenger manifest that we can find."

The four off them agreed.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 11

"Here he is, seat 25B, first flight right after our victim's, landed two hours later in Miami." Ryan said, holding the list in his hand. Nick grinned. "That gives him ample room to kill our victim and get back here."

Speed nodded. "Well I suppose that gives us enough for a warrant for his DNA." Warrick grinned, I'll get Grissom to get a warrant for us. I'll be right back." And he walked out of the door. The other watched him go, smirks on their faces.

---- ---- --- ---- -

Rowen sipped her coffee, humming happily to herself. She was on a break for five minutes and then she had to go back to work, but those five minutes were completely devoted to her coffee addiction. Coffee was necessary to survive, it was the basic principle of the working girl.

She smiled broadly to herself and giggled, then threw her head back and cackled loudly. She smiled to herself and then giggled again. She put her mug down and walked towards the window, looking outside towards the hot Miami sun. She wondered for a minute where Horatio was and then giggled again. She was acting live a love struck young schoolgirl and she knew it.

She shrugged and settled down behind her desk. There was nothing wrong with acting love struck every now and then, love kept you healthy and young. That was her theory anyway.

She giggled to herself.

When she finally landed in a retirement home, or in the loony bin whichever came first, she was going to write her memoirs and make loads and loads of money.

Who didn't want to read the memoirs of a crazy woman?

Rowen wrinkled her nose, okay so maybe she wasn't going to make loads and loads of money.

--- ---- ---- ---- ----

Ryan walked through the halls off the Las Vegas Crime Lab fast paced, his long legs easily striding past everyone. He turned right and quickly made his way towards the DNA lab, clutching the mouth swab in the small cardboard box.

He could already see Greg Sanders dancing insanely through all the glass walls. He stepped into the lab and leaned against the wall, grinning. He waited until Greg turned around and stopped in his tracks. The young man grinned, whistled a suspicious little tune and then cleared his throat.

"So, what graces your being with my lab?"

Ryan blinked and then shook his head, smiling. "Here." He handed over the mouth swab. "You'll make or break our case with this." Greg nodded solemnly. "I'll guard it with my life." The lab tech grinned. "You want me to process this right away, right?"

Ryan nodded. "If it's not too much trouble? Compare it with the DNA on the pant leg."

Greg nodded. "You got it, it's not like I have anything else to do." The young lab tech shook his head. "It's like everyone's forgotten about me these days. No DNA samples, nothing. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm only liked because of my genius abilities."

Greg sighed. "I'm all alone!" He bawled dramatically. Ryan patted him on the back. "There, there, it's not so bad." The laughter was clear in his voice.

---- ---- ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- ----- --- --- ----------- --------------- ------- --------- ------- ----

Eric stared out the window. His day was going from bad to worse. There weren't any new cases, like all the criminals had suddenly gone on vacation. He'd already finished all of his paperwork. And on top of that he missed his lover terribly.

He just wanted Ryan to come home so he could pin the young man to the bed and fuck him blind. But unfortunately his lover was in Las Vegas and Eric couldn't even corner Ryan in the lab to steal a fleeting kiss.

He sighed and rested his hand against the smooth surface of his workbench in the fingerprint lab. He just wanted his lover back home, that was all.

---- ------ ------ ------ ----- ----- ------- ----- -- --- --------- ---------------- ----------- -------- ------- --

Greg handed him the paper, grinning wildly. "Did I make the case or did I make the case?" Ryan scanned the results and grinned wildly. "You made the case, definitely." Greg smirked slightly. "Well, I am the best DNA tech in the world."

Ryan clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you are, now if you'll excuse me, I have an interrogation with my name on it." The two men said their goodbyes and Ryan left quickly. He walked through the halls, making his way towards the lay out where the others were waiting, because there wasn't anything else they could do.

They looked up when they entered and Speed nodded, looking pleased. "Judging by the Mega-Watt smile on your face I say the DNA matches." Ryan nodded and Nick and Warrick high fived. "Alright, looks like we finally solved this case." Nick said and Warrick nodded. "You know what would be sweet, getting that little punk to confess. We've breaking our heads on this case, a confession would be a nice way to close the deal."

The other nodded. Nick grinned. "Well, Ryan, Warrick, it looks like you guys are going back into the interrogation room."

The two men nodded.

Ryan sat in a chair across from Bart Verbeke and Warrick sat next to him. Captain Jim Brass was standing in the corner, keeping an eye on the interrogation. Ryan calmly pulled the autopsy photo from the file and laid it on the table, in front of the killer.

"You claimed you didn't know Bart Verbeke that well, are you prepared to alter your statement?" Warrick asked and the young man shook his head. "I didn't know him that well." Ryan raised an eyebrow. "But you did know him well, well enough to kill him at least."

Verbeke blanched. "I didn't kill him." Warrick leaned back in his seat. "Then would you care to explain how we found some of your blood on his pants?" The young man paled. He looked at the autopsy picture in front of him and brushed his hand over the surface, as if he wanted to brush over the skin of the cold body.

"Why did you kill him, Bart?" Ryan asked. Bart sighed and looked up, his eyes shooting fire. "You don't know what he was like! Every day he promised me he was going to end it with her, that he was going to come clean that he was going to tell everyone! He told me we were going to be happy together!"

The young man leaned back, tears slipping passed his eyes.

Ryan's eyes widened. "You two were involved?" He asked softly and the young man nodded. "Yes, I loved him so much and he kept telling me he loved me back. He kept saying that he was going to end it with his girlfriend. But he was lying."

The kid took a shuddered breath. "He said he was going away for a business trip and then I hear from his landlord he took a flight to Miami to go see his girlfriend. After all his promises he went back to her! I couldn't let him do it! I couldn't let him keep hurting me like this."

The young man looked up and looked Ryan straight in the eyes. "So I ended it." Ryan's jaw clenched. "For you information, he told his best friend he was going to break it off with his girlfriend. He followed her to Miami so he could end their relationship. He just never had the chance."

The young man stared at them dejectedly. "You're lying." He whispered by Ryan shook his head. "I'm not."

Ryan and Warrick stood, leaving Brass to arrest the young man who was now sobbing. They stopped outside the door off the interrogation room. Warrick turned to the younger man. "Well, that's the end off that. Want to grab breakfast or something?" Ryan shook his head. "No, I just want to go home."

TBC

St: this chapter was such a huge struggle, I just couldn't seem to finish it, I re-wrote it countless of times and this is the best I came up with sigh Anyway, Ryan's going back home now so that's accomplished.

And you know what that means, one of the next chapters will contain porn


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 12

He gritted his teeth as his plane took off. Yes, he was going back home, back to Miami, back to his lover and that was a reason to be happy, but he still hated flying. He shifted in his seat uneasily, acutely aware of the relaxed posture of the man sitting next to him.

"You should just relax."

He said and Ryan glared balefully at the World Scruffiest CSI.

"Shut up, Speed."

The older man grinned. "I bet Eric could get you to relax." Speed laughed at the bright red blush spreading across Ryan's cheeks.

--- ---- ---- --- --- --- -

He knew he was probably acting like a little kid who couldn't wait for Christmas, but the news his lover was coming home was making him restless and he thought he knew why Ryan felt the urge to clean when he was restless or stressed. Because the urge to do something, anything is fighting a heated battle with his resentment towards cleaning.

He checked the clock every two minutes and time was going agonizingly slow. He thought about calling Rowen, but she was cooking Horatio dinner and he didn't want to interrupt. He checked the clock again and groaned, three more hours until he could pick up his lover from the airport. And then he'd have Ryan all to himself.

Rowen had promised him she would stop by the following morning, after Ryan had been home for an entire night, to give them some privacy and Eric had smirked widely.

He sighed and leaned back on the couch, preparing to wait for three hours. The ringing of the phone startled him out of this thoughts and he quickly answered.

"Hello, Eric Delko speaking."

"Hey Eric, it's Rowen."

"Hey, Rowen, weren't you supposed to be cooking H dinner?"

He heard laughter in the background and it took him a minute to realize Horatio was the one laughing. "You mean he's cooking me dinner because God knows I can't cook. You're on the speaker honey, so watch what you say."

Eric grinned and nodded. "Alright."

"Anyway, I'm calling you to say Ryan's flight is landing in an half an hour."

"What? But you sa-"

"I know what I said. But look at it this way, now it looks like he's coming home early."

And she hung up.

He stared at the phone for a while, before quickly grabbing his phone and heading out towards his car. He had a plane to catch.

He made the forty minute drive in twenty minutes and he was slightly surprised there weren't any accidents. He sat down in one of those plastic chairs and he leaned his head back, tired from anticipation. He closed his eyes and sighed, listening to the sounds of the airport.

-- ----- ---

It was the first time he'd known a plan to land early. Speed took a cab but Ryan decided to wait for Eric. He'd been sitting at table in a small café and noticed his lover rush in. He watched as the Cuban sank into one of the chair and leaned his head back, unknowingly giving Ryan a great view.

The young man took a minute to watch his lover. It was so good to just see him again. Smiling widely he stood and made his way towards Eric.

"Hey." He said quietly and he could see as Eric startled. The Latino blinked at him for a minute and then stood. They locked eyes and then suddenly Eric was kissing him senseless and Ryan gasped, but kissed back quickly, the feel of his lover against him breath taking and beautiful and he whimpered when Eric pulled back to breath.

Breathing was highly overrated.

They parted and Eric's eyes were dark and overloading Ryan's senses and already he could feel his body straining forward, towards the warm presence of Eric's body. He picked up his bag and Eric took his other hand and quickly pulled him forward, obviously in a rush to get home and Ryan is right behind him.

The air in the car was thick and heavy with anticipation and Eric could feel himself getting hard with just the thought of burying himself deep in his lover. The drive was long and torturous and all of a sudden Ryan's hand was on his thigh and he almost hit the breaks in surprise.

He looked at his lover from the corner of his eyes and Ryan is just looking out the window, as if nothing is going on at all. He turned his eyes back to the road and he could feel a burning heat searing into his thigh where Ryan's hand was on the denim of his jeans.

Slowly, he became accustomed to the presence of Ryan's hand. It was a pleasant touch that inflamed his desire and yet he had to remind himself that he wanted to do this at home instead off just pulling it over and taking Ryan in the backseat.

Then Ryan's hand started moving slowly and he almost lets out a cry, because Ryan's hand is inching upwards and moving for the raging arousal burning between his legs. He couldn't stop the small whimper escaping his lips when Ryan's hand settled over his erection and gave it a firm squeeze.

He wanted to say something but Ryan was still looking out the window, seemingly not doing anything and he didn't want to be the first to admit what Ryan was doing. Ryan's hand started to move again, his fingers tracing contours and Eric's iron was faltering rapidly.

The hand keeps moving, rubbing, pressing and solid and Eric bit his lip hard enough to draw blood when he felt his orgasm rushing up on him.

And then, just like that Ryan's hand was gone, resting on Ryan's own knee, leaving Eric's head spinning. He was breathing heavily, his hands clutching the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. He was amazed that they were still driving calmly.

He wondered if he didn't imagine the entire thing. But the little smile on Ryan's face Eric could barely see in the reflection of the window is enough to let him know that he didn't imagine anything. It only served to fuel Eric's determination to fuck his lover into the mattress as soon as they got home.

When Eric parked the car he could feel Ryan tense next to him and the young man was out of the vehicle before Eric had time to blink. He quickly got out himself and reached the front door, where Ryan was fumbling with the keys.

And suddenly Ryan found himself pinned against the door, Eric's hands gripping his hips tightly and then they kissed. Ryan's mouth opened wide in invitation, temptingly hot and wet and Eric's tongue delved in, tasting something he hadn't tasted for days and he groaned.

He pressed further into his lover, producing a whine from the back of Ryan's throat and he wanted more.

He released Ryan and pulled back, watching as his lover turned around and quickly opened the door. He followed Ryan inside and shut the door behind them, locking it and then he turned around. Ryan had taken off his jacket and hung it in the closet, then he'd pulled off his badge and his gun, laying it on a table near the door.

Eric waited until Ryan finished his ritual. The young man turned around to look at him and then he pounced.

He pushed Ryan to the floor and Ryan went willingly, pulling Eric down on top off him. Eric quickly started tugging on Ryan's shirt and the young man raised his arms, lifting up his torso, allowing the Cuban to tug it over his head.

He could feel Ryan quickly unbuttoning his dress shirt while his own hands were working on Ryan's belt and jeans. He pulled the denim away from slim hips, pulling the fabric of Ryan's boxers with them. The shoes and socks are quickly discarded.

He didn't take the time to take out anything himself. His shirt was unbuttoned and a part of his shoulder was exposed. His pants and boxers were pulled down far enough so they wouldn't be a problem.

He prepared Ryan as best as he could while trying to ward himself of but when Ryan opened his eyes and looked straight at him he was lost.

He pushed himself in, his thrust hard and deep and Ryan gasped in twisted pleasure. The young man's arms came up and pushed the Cuban's shirt away, his fingers clawing at the skin.

Eric was breathing heavily, the heat enveloping him almost enough to drive him over the edge. So he held back for a minute, looking at the way his lover's eyes were shut tight and how the young man surrendered himself completely to Eric's touch.

He pulled back and thrust back in, Ryan arching into him almost immediately. Ryan was the most responsive lover he'd ever had and he wanted to keep it that way. Ryan is moaning loudly and the noise was urging Eric forward, snapping his hips up harder and rougher.

His grip on Ryan became harder to the point of where he knew he was bruising his lover but he couldn't bring himself to care when it was obvious Ryan was enjoying the treatment and so he was rougher then he'd ever been before and Ryan reacted to it unbound pleasure.

When they came together in a rush of pleasure and warmth Eric collapsed on top of the younger man, not able to roll away for his breath was stolen by his orgasm and his heart was stolen by the young man beneath him.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 13

Ryan moaned and he could hear Eric chuckle in his ear. He tried to say something, anything, but the pleasure induced haze Eric had kept him in for only God knew how long was destroying all sane thoughts and eliminating the possibility of speaking.

The man above him shifted slightly and Ryan could feel him sinking deeper into his body. He gasped slightly, a content sigh passed his lips a second later. Eric's breathing hitched as he softly thrust into Ryan and a small whine escaped the younger man's lips.

They continued this way, trusting softly and gently. Their breathing hitched as their movements at last started to speed up, their hips moving faster as desperation laced their bodies. Their hands were woven together and Ryan arched against the body on top of him, throwing his head back.

Eric groaned as he hid his face into the soft skin of his lover's shoulder. He could read the tell tale signs of Ryan's body tightening up in release and as Ryan's muscles clamped down on him while Ryan's cum splattered all over their stomachs he could feel his eyes rolling in the back of his head as he came deep inside his lover.

They lay on top of each other for a while, boneless and trying to get their breathing back. Eric pulled back slightly and admired his work. Ryan's hips were covered in fingerprint shaped bruises, his shoulder had several bite marks and other parts of his body were covered in hickey's. He smirked and Ryan raised an eyebrow at him.

The Cuban merely kept smirking and settled back down, nuzzling into Ryan's shoulder. He could feel Ryan's fingertips trace meaningless fingerprints on his back, tracing his spine. He sighed contently. If he was completely honest, these were the moments he'd missed the most.

He nuzzled his nose against Ryan's skin and groaned. "I don't ever wanna get up." Ryan chuckled and kissed his shoulder. "I know the feeling."

Their peaceful moment was interrupted by the doorbell and Ryan groaned. Eric sighed. "That's probably Rowen."

Ryan frowned. "Rowen? Rowen doesn't right the doorbell she just barges in."

Eric laughed. "I made her promise to ring the doorbell in case we were busy. And Rowen always keeps her promises, well sort of." Ryan nodded. "I suppose you're right. Well lets get dressed."

Eric got of his young lover reluctantly and slipped into his boxers, grabbing some slacks and a shirt. Ryan grabbed a fresh pair of boxers along with jeans and a button down shirt. The young man made his way downstairs and opened the door.

Rowen had her back to him, looking down the street. He chuckled and she turned around. They stood there for a moment before Rowen squealed and hugged him tightly. "Oh it's so good to see you!" She said. Ryan smiled and hugged her back. "It's good to you too."

She pulled back and then promptly hugged him again. Ryan laughed and held her tight. It was definitely good to be home again.

They parted but she hung on to his hands and he felt a small quivering in his gut. "Is something wrong?" He asked, slightly concerned. She blinked at him and then shook her head. "No, nothing is wrong. I just…. I just need to talk to you."

He blinked and frowned. "About what?" Rowen shifted her weight from one foot to the other and Ryan blinked, because he'd never, ever, seen her this unsure of herself. He stepped aside to let her in and she quickly pushed passed him.

He turned around and noticed Eric standing on the stairs looking from him to Rowen and back again. The Cuban seemed to hesitate. He finished the last steps off the stairs and joined the two of them at the door. He avoided Ryan's gaze and looked at Rowen.

"You're going to tell him now?" He asked and Rowen nodded. Ryan frowned. "Tell me what?" They both ignored him. Eric sighed and pulled Rowen forward for a small hug. She hugged him back and they parted quickly. Eric kissed her on the cheek and then kissed Ryan on the mouth. "I'll be at … well you know Rowen."

And with that left.

Ryan turned to look at Rowen and she looked him sheepishly. She led the way to the living room. "I think you should sit down." She said and Ryan raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?" She gave him a look and with a sigh he sat down.

She stood in front of him and took a deep breath. "I'm getting married."

He blinked at her. "What?" He stood. "When did this happen? And wh-what… I don't-" The young man faltered, not knowing what to say. He looked at everything except Rowen. She put a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "It's not that bad." But Ryan shook his head, looking shocked beyond belief.

She bit her lip. "If that gets you shocked I wonder how you'll react to the news of who I'm marrying." Ryan turned to look at her, his eyes wide. Then they narrowed. "Who are you marrying?"

She bit her lip.

"It's not Speed is it?" Ryan asked, remembering their conversation when the man had turned out alive. Rowen smacked him on the head. "No." But she was still biting her lip. "It's worse isn't it?" He asked and Rowen nodded. "Who?" Ryan asked.

"Horatio."

There was a moment of silence.

"What? You're going to marry Horatio?" Ryan shrieked and Rowen winced. "Ryan…"

"Oh my God… oh my God…." The young man sank down on the couch in complete bewilderment. "I go to Vegas for a few days and you and Horatio decide to get hitched?"

Rowen shook her head. "It's not like that. We were dating before you left for Vegas." He stared at her? "You guys were dating before?" Rowen gave him a look. "Of course we were dating before. We're not going to get married if we didn't date."

Ryan blinked. "You're getting married… you're going to marry my boss!" He buried his face in his face. Rowen bit her lip. "It's not that bad." Ryan looked up at her. "How is it not that bad?"

She smiled. "Well we'll have tons and tons of cute red-haired children running around." Ryan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Children?"

"Alright, I guess that wasn't the smartest thing to say." She said, biting her lip. Ryan stared at her. She sat down next to him, laying a hand on his children. "Do you want some time to F.I.P.?" He blinked at her. "F.I.P.?"

"Freak In Peace." Rowen said. Ryan groaned and buried his face in his hands.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Dislcaimer: I do not own

Chapter 14

They were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. It had been two hours since Rowen had told Ryan about her relationship with Horatio. Rowen was sipping coffee and Ryan was sipping tea. "Okay, so lets go over this again. You and Horatio dated, decided to get married and Eric already knows?" Ryan asked, his tone of voice shocked, surprised and exasperated.

Rowen nodded. "Yes, but Eric doesn't know about the getting married part yet." Ryan nodded, his expression shifted again and again as if he wasn't sure how he should be feeling about this. He shifted in his chair uneasily. Finally he looked up and straight in her eyes. "Are you happy?"

The question made Rowen blink and then she smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm happy." Ryan bit his lip and stood from the table, going round to stand next to Rowen's chair. He pulled her out of her seat and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations." He whispered.

Rowen closed her eyes, fighting back tears and held him tight. "Thanks." She almost choked on her words, Ryan's acceptance of her relationship with his boss meaning more to her then she could form into words.

They parted and Ryan smiled. "It's going to take some time getting used to, but I'm happy for you." She grinned. "I'm happy for me too." Ryan laughed. "Horatio is a good guy, he'll take care of you." She whacked him on the head. "I can take care of myself."

Ryan smiled. "Fair enough, but you can't get tons and tons of cute red-haired children on your own." Rowen laughed.

The End

St: well, this is the end of Shimmering Red. It's not quite the ending I was going for, but I like it.


End file.
